The Medieval Church · c. 816–821
The Concord of Rules
Concordia Regularum
Benedict of Aniane · c. 747–821
What it is
Benedict's rule set clause by clause beside every other monastic rule the compiler could find, to show that it summed them all up.
Why it lasted
The scholarly justification for imposing a single rule across the empire — the moment Western monasticism became Benedictine by law.
Where to read it
This work is in the public domain and can be read in full, free, at the archives below. The Library catalogues it; it does not host the text.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
Read next